Assemblyman Steve Otis, D-Port Chester, is pictured during a floor debate last week over an electric lawn equipment rebate program.

A 10-year state rebate program for commercial landscapers who purchase electric-powered landscaping equipment may be on its way.

The state Assembly recently passed A.2657A by a 99-42 vote, with Assemblyman Andrew Molitor, R-Westfield, and Assemblyman Joe Sempolinski, R-Canisteo, voting against the legislation. The legislation will now make its way to the state Senate, which passed similar legislation during the 2025 session before the bill died in the Assembly. A companion bill has also passed the state Senate this week by a 52-10 vote with Sen. George Borrello, R-Sunset Bay, voting in favor.

“The legislation is important because over 69 communities in New York state, so far at least, have have adopted local laws restricting in some way the use of gas-powered electrical equipment,” said Assemblyman Steven Otis, D-Port Chester. “This bill will give landscapers in those communities or landscapers anywhere else in the state who want to transition to electric equipment some financial incentive to defray some of those costs as they compete in a changing market. The legislation gives to NYSERDA the responsibility of designing the program. They do programs like this all the time. It not only includes the equipment itself, it also includes battery charging and battery equipment that is often associated with the use of this kind of equipment. (This is a) good small business bill, good environmental bill, good bill for everyone to vote for here on the floor.”

Democrats in the state Legislature have been unable to ban the sale of gas-powered lawn equipment in the past.

Now, Democrats are trying to incentivize the biggest users of gas-powered equipment to make the transition on their own. The Electric Landscaping Equipment Rebate Program would offer point-of-sale rebates to commercial landscapers and institutional users, including municipalities, who purchase battery-powered electric landscaping equipment, such as leaf blowers, weed whackers, or lawn mowers.

There is no guarantee that Gov. Kathy Hochul will sign the bill when it is presented to her. Otis said his bill doesn’t add any additional money to NYSERDA’s budget, a way for the bill to avoid a 2022 veto because the governor wanted the legislation to be part of budget legislation. Assemblyman Phil Palmesano, R-Bath, noted that the program’s costs will ultimately be paid by utility ratepayers if NYSERDA uses proceeds from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative to pay for the rebate program. Otis said the bill doesn’t change what ratepayers are paying into RGGI.

“”I’m sorry my colleagues. This is just more misplaced priorities,” Parmesano said in his comments on the bill. “I have great respect for the sponsor of this bill. I really do not like this bill. This is another out-of-touch policy in a climate energy agenda that continues to put green policies over ratepayers from a bigger perspective. … I do not have confidence in NYSERDA. They are sitting on $2.4 billion in ratepayer funds right now that have been taken from them, but this bill doesn’t reduce that at all. This just makes more opportunity to take that money from the ratepayer. I urge you all to go home and ask your constituents, ‘Would you rather have direct ratepayer relief right now or would you rather subsidize someone’s electric lawnmower or someone’s electric weed eater?’ There’s no doubt every one of your constituents would say I want direct ratepayer relief right now.”

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